On Tour With Bandit Lites

Bandit Lites is currently supplying two of the spiffier looking tours out on the road right now. Two of them are the new tours for the groups R.E.M. and the Deftones.

Touring for the first time in five years, R.E.M. is an event both visually stunning and musically superb. The tour’s LD, Willie Williams, creates a look notable for its strong and vibrant colors. The elaborate stage is highlighted with whimsical shapes created from EncapSulite fixtures, including the word “LUV,” as well as graphic panels featuring stylized portraits of the band’s members.

The four-truss rig is hung with 26 Martin MAC 2000s, with 24 High End Systems Studio Colors located on the mid-stage truss and on the stage floor. Interspersed on the stage are 18 police beacons custom-built for the R.E.M. tour by Bandit Lites’ technical services division. Seven Martin Atomic 3K strobes also illuminate the audience from various points on the rig. The show is controlled from a Flying Pig Systems Wholehog II console with a wing. The tour began with dates in Europe and has now moved across the Atlantic to crisscross North America. It opens on August 29th and continues through October 2003.

Equipment:
36 - Martin MAC 2000
24 - High End System Studio Color
7 - 3K Atomic Strobes
7 - 8 Lite Fixture
16 - ETC Source Four 19 Degree Leko
18 - Police Beacon
2 - Lycian 1271 Starklite
4 - Lycian 2KW Xenon
7 - Sodium Fixture
1 – Wholehog II with wing
2 - AVO 48 Way Digital Dimmer
2 - Flat Screens

Bandit Crew Europe:
Designer: Willie Williams
Crew Chief: Johnny Wyer
Technician: Roger Grybowicz
Technician: Rob Starksfield
Technician: Mark 'Scratch' Hitchcock

Also on the road with Bandit Lites this summer are the Deftones. LD Dizzy Gosnell says "The band’s brief was, 'Make it a compact system, but make it look big.' That’s easy enough to do with a band like The Deftones--such big sounds from a five- piece band, the music will just tell you what’s needed for lighting." The unusual aspect to the rig is that is contains only intelligent fixtures, with no conventional lights at all. In addition to a four-truss hanging rig with a number of Martin moving heads, there are two towers on either side of the stage. The show is controlled from a Wholehog II console.

Equipment:
9 - Martin Atomic Strobe
5 - Martin MAC 500
28 - Martin MAC 600
11 - Martin MAC 2000
1 – Wholehog II
8 - 3E DN motors

Crew:
Lighting Designer - Dizzy Gosnell
Lighting Director - Joe Paradise
Lighting Technician - Tyler Green